Bar Dynamite to become Blonde

Bar Dynamite is going Blonde. At the end of July, the Mission Hills bar (1808 W. Washington St.) will permanently close, and three weeks later, on August 20, it'll reopen as Blonde Bar. Allen Colaneri, who will be taking over ownership of the bar once Dynamite finally closes its doors, says he first came up with the concept behind Blonde three years ago when he was manager at The Void, but only now was able to see it fully realized. When word was first put out on Facebook about it, Colaneri sent out a picture of Blondie's Deborah Harry, who is sort of a muse for the place.

"It's gonna be a dive, first and foremost," Colaneri says in an interview at Rancho's in North Park. "I love the music that came out of CBGB in the '70s: The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Blondie. Just the spirit of that scene—they were local bands that were given an opportunity to play and they created this creative haven."

Blonde Bar will feature a mixture of live bands and DJs once it opens. It's also going to undergo a slight remodel.

The basic layout of the bar won't change that much, but a new stage will be put in, and there will be some design changes, including a wall of vinyl records behind the bar.

Colaneri says that he wants it to be a place where people can see a show, or simply kick back in a booth with their friends.

"When I go out to catch a show, I also like to be able to go where I can talk with friends," he says. "A lot of the time you can't do both in the same place."

Colaneri says that the calendar is already starting to fill in and that once Blonde Bar is open, there will be a pretty full schedule of entertainment. But, staying true to the idea of being a comfortable place to hang out, he doesn't want to overdo it. No matter what, he says, "It's gonna be a badass bar."